If you combine blackberry picking with your mushrooming, you may not notice the feature that defines this little mushroom: it exudes a purplish juice that stains your fingers. Sometimes called the "bleeding mycena," Mycena haematopus is one of the few Mycena species that is easily recognized. The purple juice comes out readily when the mushroom's flesh is squeezed--especially in the base of the stem. Mycena haematopus grows in clusters on the deadwood of hardwoods, which helps to separate it from another bleeding species, Mycena sanguinolenta, which grows scattered or gregariously on the ground in conifer woods.

Description:

Ecology: Saprobic on the deadwood of hardwoods (rarely reported on the wood of conifers), usually on logs that are well decayed and without bark; growing in dense clusters (but sometimes growing alone or scattered); causing a white rot, according to Tom Volk (click the link below); spring through fall (and over winter in warm climates); widely distributed and common in North America.